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A vision for the future of dairy

WHO WE ARE

Dairy Together is educating farmers, eaters, and lawmakers about how supply management can create a viable dairy economy. 

 

We embrace a vision to preserve and grow a vibrant agricultural landscape in Wisconsin and across the country. 

Dairy Together hits the road

In 2019, Dairy Together held meetings from coast to coast to present a menu of policy options that would improve milk prices and keep family farms in business. We learned that the industry has done a really good job at convincing farmers that their value lies only in their productivity and that the only way to make money in dairy is to get bigger. We also learned that so many farmers were desperate for a different approach. While many expressed reservations about a Canadian-style quota system, farmers big and small, from California to Vermont, were interested in adopting a national program that keeps supply and demand in better balance.

 

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Hay Barrels

Next stop: 2023 Farm Bill

Through the Dairy Together project, we have listened and learned from family farmers across the country and coalesced around an approach that is fair, effective, and politically feasible.

 

With the Farm Bill set to expire in 2023, we have an opportunity to reform dairy markets in a way that creates better balance and long-term stability. The good news is, the American philosophy around food and farming is shifting and the dairy industry will have to adapt. The “get big or get out” mentality that brought forth a system of large-scale corporate agriculture has run its course. The farm policies of the future will favor fair prices, rural resilience, diversity,  and public health. The next farm bill is our opportunity to turn the corner and embrace these values as we usher in a new era for agriculture. We know a whole lot of dairy farmers who can hardly wait. 

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Dairy Together calls on Congress to establish a mandatory program for managed growth based on market demand and price stability in the 2023 Farm Bill. Such a program should increase farmer profitability by:

  • Elevating milk prices

  • Preventing overproduction

  • Reducing milk price volatility

Such a program should also:

  • Allow for beginning farmer entry

  • Reduce government expenditures

  • Respond to global market conditions

  • Be national and mandatory so that all dairy producers participate

  • Allow for planned growth when the market can accept additional milk

  • Be designed in such a way that any production base does not acquire value

  • Have meaningful farmer input in development, implementation, and governance

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